AUGUSTA – Maine Farm Bureau named a Unity College graduate with a doctorate in plant medicine its new executive director last week. Alicyn N. Ryan will be the public face of Farm Bureau and serve as the chief lobbyist for farmers in Augusta. She replaces Jon Olson, who retired from the post in June after 35 years.
Ryan is a native of Massachusetts who came to Maine to attend Unity, where she studied landscape horticulture. While at Unity, she also spent a summer and semester working at the University of Maine Insect and Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab in Orono.
She worked closely with farmers on plant-related problems while she was earning her doctorate at the University of Florida, including a stint as a farm production and food safety worker at a vegetable and flower farm operated by the president of Massachusetts Farm Bureau, Rich Bonanno.
“It was good to study in Florida and see that scale of agriculture and the problems they face,” Ryan said in a statement. “However, I am excited to be back in Maine.”
Ryan is planning a September wedding to Maine game warden Andrew Smart.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.